ON-CARD ALL-STAR: 1970 BOOG POWELL

The next starting 1969 All-Star to get an All-Star banner on their 1970 card is the American League first baseman for that year's "Midsummer Classic", the Baltimore Orioles Boog Powell:

Powell was having himself a great year in 1969, leading to a second-place finish for A.L. MVP with 37 homers, 121 runs batted in and a .304 batting average, the latter two figures being career-bests.

Of course in 1970 he would fare even better, going on to win the MVP Award while helping the Orioles take home the World Championship with a win over the Cincinnati Reds.

He would go on to finish his Major League career with 339 home runs, 1187 runs batted in and a .266 average, while being named to four all-star teams, taking home a Most Valuable Player Award in 1970, and two other top-3 MVP finishes in 1966 and 1969, playing for 17 Major League seasons.
Always a fan-favorite in Baltimore, Boog can still be seen around Camden Yards at his "Boog's Barbeque" restaurant.
And who can forget those awesome Miller Lite commercials in the 1980's!? Those were great!

 

MINOR LEAGUE DAYS- NOLAN RYAN

****UPDATE: REVISED CARD WITH IMAGE REVERSED****

Thank you "Unknown" for the heads up on the Ryan Image! I never even realized it was flipped!

Here's the corrected card below.

On the blog today, a wonderful addition to my on-going 1971 "Minor League Days" sub-set, adding the great Nolan Ryan, celebrating his great career:

Ryan was a 20-year-old flame-throwing kid when this photo was taken in 1967 while with the Jacksonville Suns.

He split the season in the Minors between three teams, appearing in only 12 games & posting a record of 1-1 in limited play.

Of course, he was well on his way to what would turn out to be a 27-year Big League career, pretty much making a joke out of "Father Time" by pitching into the 1993 season.

I know I don't have to state the obvious here, but we're talking: 300+ wins, 5000+ strikeouts, seven no-hitters, 11 strikeout titles with six of them being 300+ seasons, two E.R.A. crowns and an almost unanimous Hall of Fame induction.

The man was a machine! Just incredible...

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1976 BUTCH HOBSON

Up on the blog today we have a 1976 "not so missing" card for former Boston Red Sox third baseman Butch Hobson, who made his Big League debut in 1975:

Hobson appeared in only two games that year, going 1-for-4 at the plate with a couple of strikeouts before getting about a half-season's worth of playing time in 1976.

Between 1977 and 1979 he would be the Red Sox starting third baseman, having a top-notch year in 1977 when he hit 30 homers while driving in 112 runs, scoring 77 himself, all career-bests.

However in 1980 an elbow injury limited his play to only 93 games before getting traded in the off-season along with Rick Burleson to the Angels for Carney Lansford and Mark Clear.

He'd spend only one year with the Angels, appearing in 85 games and hitting .235 before moving on to the New York Yankees in 1982, appearing in only 30 games and hitting only .172 in that time.

Between 1983 and 1985 Hobson would play solely in the Yankees Minor League system, never getting an opportunity to play in the Big Leagues again, retiring as a player by season's end of '83.

All told, Hobson finished his playing career with a .248 batting average, with 98 homers and 397 RBIs over 738 games.

Post-playing career Hobson went into coaching, before getting a chance to manage the Red Sox from 1992 to 1994, finishing his managerial career with a record of 207-232.

 

1974 SPECIAL- JIM AND MIKE HEGAN/FATHER & SON MAJOR LEAGUERS

Came across this nice picture of former New York Yankee coach Jim Hegan along with his son Mike Hegan, who was also in the Bronx at the same time, so I figured why not make a 1974 "Special"? So here you go:

The elder Hegan was a Major League player for 17 seasons, in addition to three "lost" years serving in the military during Worl War II, playing from 1941 through the 1960 season.

Over that time he was a five-time All-Star while catching for the Cleveland Indians, catching such Indian legends as Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia and Early Wynn.

When his playing days ended he went right into coaching, first for the Chicago Cubs in 1960 before eventually moving on to the Yanks where he served as bullpen coach, mentoring guys like Thurman Munson and Rick Dempsey.

During his last year as a coach for the Yankees he also had the opportunity to coach his son Mike, who came back to the Bronx for a second stint after starting his career with them between 1964 and 1967.

Hegan the younger put in a 12 year career in the Big Leagues, playing between 1964 and 1977, generally as a first baseman with some outfield work thrown in with the Yanks, Pilots/Brewers and A's.

That's just about 30 years of playing time between the two, with almost as much coaching time added on as well!

A baseball family indeed!

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1975 SIXTO LEZCANO

Today the blog brings you a 1975 "not so missing" card for former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Sixto Lezcano, who started his Big League career with a handful of game during the 1974 season:

Lezcano appeared in 15 games that year, hitting .241 with 13 hits over 54 at-bats, hitting two homers and driving in nine.

He would go on to have some pretty nice years with the Brewers, the high point being 1979 when pretty much set career-bests across the board with 28 homers, 101 RBIs, 84 runs scored and a very nice .321 batting average.

That season also brought him his only Gold Glove and some MVP consideration by year's end, finishing in 15th place.

In 1981 he found himself a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played for one season, before going to the San Diego Padres for a year and a half, then to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1983 and 1984, and finally one year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, which turned out to be his last in the Majors.

He would play one year in Japan, this in 1987 with the Yokohama Taiyo Whales, appearing in only 20 games before retiring for good.

All told, for his Major League career Lezcano hit an admirable .271 with 1122 over 4134 at-bats, with 148 homers and 591 RBIs in 1291 games.

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1979 BRIAN MILNER

Today's blog post has a "not so missing" 1979 card for two-game Major League catcher Brian Milner, who funny enough would go on to have slots in multi-player rookie cards in 1981 and 1982:

Milner's only Big League action happened in June of 1978, actually making quite a torrid scene, going 4-for-9 at the plate with three runs scored and two runs batted in at the age of 18!

That works out to a nifty .444 batting average my friends!

Yet sadly for him it did NOT get him any more time on a Major League field, as he would go on to play another four years in the Blue Jay's Minor League system before retiring after the 1982 season, STILL only 22 years of age.

Major League ball is a wicked mistress!

How many players can say they "retired" with a .400+ career average?

Go figure...

 

NOT REALLY MISSING IN ACTION- 1974 CHARLIE WILLIAMS

Up on the blog today we have a "not so missing" 1974 card for former pitcher Charlie Williams of the San Francisco Giants:

Willaims appeared in 12 games for the Giants during the 1973 season, going 3-0 with an earned run average of 6.65 over 23 innings of work.

Turns out he would end up pitching seven years for the Giants after starting out his Big League career with a rookie year with the New York Mets, eventually being famously traded along with $50,000 for Willie Mays in May of 1972.

He'd be used generally as an arm out of the bullpen with some solid years in the middle of the decade.
By the time he retired after the 1978 season at the age of 30, he finished his Big League career with a record of 23-22 over 268 appearances, with an ERA of 3.97 with four saves in 573.1 innings.